Suspects had NEMO ties

BEV DARR
bev.darr@courierpost.com

David A. Ater and Nathan Stice, who are charged with the murder of Rodney Wood, had never lived in Hannibal until both were recently released from custody, according to Dan Conboy, district supervisor with the Department of Probation and Parole.
Despite Ater and Stice being under the supervision of the probation and parole officers whose district offices are at the Hannibal Community Supervision Center on Warren Barrett Drive, their decision to live in Hannibal was not related to the center, Conboy explained.
When asked if Stice and Ater were assigned to live in Hannibal, Conboy said “absolutely not. ...If this center was not here, and we were operating the probation and parole office at 909 Broadway (its former location) in June of 2008, and these people were put on probation or parole, they would still be here - the center made no difference.”
Stice, 21, was released from custody in Fulton on July 11 after serving 120 days in a drug treatment program. He had been on five years’ probation for a Lewis County charge of distribution or production of a controlled substance.
Ater, 22, who formerly lived in Kahoka, had been released from prison on June 27 after serving 120 days in prison for a Randolph County burglary charge. He had been convicted in 2004 and had been on five years probation, which he was charged with violating in 2006, resulting in his incarceration. At that time he had been living in Moberly.

Arraignment today on murder charge

Both Stice and Ater will be arraigned during a court session that will begin at 8:15 a.m. today, Aug. 15, at the Marion County Courthouse in Hannibal.
Both are charged with second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for the Aug. 10 death of Rodney Wood. They also are charged with kidnapping, for an incident that occurred after Wood was found deceased.
Wood was reported to have stopped in the 2100 block of Broadway to help a woman who was under attack by two men, and the men attacked him instead.
Wood’s funeral is at 10 a.m. today at the James O’Donnell Funeral Home, with burial following at Grand View Burial Park. An Avenue of Flags is planned at the burial park to honor him.
Ater and Stice are among 1,260 clients in the eight counties served by the district probation and parole offices in Hannibal. Each individual probation or parole plan is approved, Conboy explained.
While Stice and Ater were both approved to live in Hannibal, they were breaking the terms of their probation or parole by associating with each other, Conboy said. “One of the conditions is you shall not associate with someone who has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.”
Conboy said since the supervision center began housing clients in February, “we have not had anyone go out of here and commit a crime. We hope to keep it a good record.”
In the men’s dorm, the center has 25 men, with 46 available beds. It has eight beds for women and six residents.
All the residents are monitored 24 hours a day by an electronic ankle device, he said. They check in and out and their medications are locked in individual lockers, where each client takes his or her own medication, with a staff member present.
“We have 1,260 clients (in the district) and have maybe eight or 10 of those 1,260 get revoked in a month. That is a high average.”
Only people from this district are housed at the center, Conboy explained. “We will not let people from outside my district come in. The only people here are people whose original offense occurred around here or they lived here.”
People on probation or parole are not assigned to live at the center unless they have special needs, he added. “The people who come here are referred by their probation officer, because of a special need they have. It may be housing or it may be a drug problem they are not dealing with in the community by themselves. Or it may be an employment situation, where they need a place to live while they go out and find a job.
“The probation officer meets with them, and they are constantly assessing needs and working up treatment plans or supervision plans to meet those needs,” Conboy said.
“We have had a few here more than 30 days and a few under 30 days,” he said. “The residential facility was built to be a stop-gap resource to meet special needs. The supervisors work with them on their plan to get out.”
The center is divided into two sides, with the south half housing the probation and parole offices, and the north half where the residents sleep, eat and have classrooms.
“The classrooms also provide GED classes three times a week, (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) for the public, supported by the Hannibal Public Schools,” Conboy said. There is also a variety of other training, including classes for the staff.
He is very pleased with the food provided by the contract with the Hannibal Nutrition Center. “It’s a great partnership,” Conboy said. “They provide all our food,” with hot breakfasts and dinner and cold lunches to be taken to work by the clients.
Breakfast and lunches are delivered by 5 a.m. so anyone needing to take a lunch has it available. “And they come back in the evening to provide a hot supper,” he said.
Conboy added that the center is a resource, but despite all their supervision, the clients are free to make their own decisions. “The thing I need to let people know is I make no choices for any of our residents. They make their own choices.
“We are responsible for helping them access needs and helping them deal with those needs, helping to try to be successful. But if they make the choices to do something other than that, that is strictly their decision.”